Happy New Year, Dia
by GimmeSomeSolace
Summary: One day of the year made Nico scowl, and pull shut his drapes, and listen to his special-made soundtrack, created specially for that one day. No, not Christmas. He wasn't that much of a cliche. The holiday just after Christmas. The pointless, mundane, drinking holiday also known as New Year's eve.


Camp Half Blood "did" holidays with gusto. Even if they had religious meaning, Chiron pulled out a good ole' excuse for celebrating it, thumped the dust out, and set it on figurative display. Christmas meant the spirit of giving. Easter was used as a celebration of spring. Hanukkah was the festival of new light.

And, 364 days of the year, Nico was perfectly happy to throw away the wine bottles filled with spiked Coke Mr. D always gave out, or decorate his cabin with pastel eggs, or even help light the luminaries that camp always set out around Hanukkah time, although he always managed to burn his fingers. Even on Valentine's, though Nico rolled his eyes and considered it a Hallmark holiday if he ever saw one, he always helped the younger campers, who were almost expiring from the thrill of seeing siblings galloping around on dates, hang the well-worn paper hearts that were suspended from the beams of the lunch pavilion every year.

But on day of the year made Nico scowl, and pull shut his drapes, and listen to his special-made soundtrack, created specially for _that_ _one day_. No, not Christmas. He wasn't _that_ much of a cliche. The holiday just _after_ Christmas. The pointless, mundane, drinking holiday also known as New Year's eve.

Chiron had a special passion for New Year's, possible because he didn't have any reasons to tread carefully, lest he disturb the religious waters. And so, he always attacked New Year's with an energy tornado which swept even the grumpiest camper up- well, except one. New Year's was an excuse to get trashed. It was an excuse to get laid. It was an excuse to prolong school holidays. It was only there, Nico thought, to keep people too busy buying fireworks and what-nots to get caught up in the after-Christmas letdown. Useless, pointless, and purely ridiculous. And worst of all, almost impossible to escape.

Chiron would stockpile fireworks, urging the Hephaestus children to work overtime to produce as many as possible. He would recruit a special student every year to follow Leo around and make sure he was doing his part, as his fire-repellent skin made him a fast and efficient firework warrior, since, of course, he didn't have to be skittish when fixing the powder. Chiron roped every single cabin into helping for the big celebration, inviting the Romans to send over whomever they wished so everyone could celebrate together. Jason and Thalia devised a complicated system to have small, pre-programmed bolts of lightning strike a firework at a time and send them soaring in the air. Percy was happy to whip up a few intricate fountains for centerpieces, somehow fixing them so the would freeze and unfreeze to a beat. Demeter grew millions of flowers, keeping them fresh until the big night, where they would be concealed in canvas roped between two trees, where a volunteering Hecate kid would make the canvas disappear and let roses, lilies, daffodils, every flower imaginable fall onto the heads of the partying campers at exactly 12:00. Athena children would work on logistics- where will it be held, when will it begin, what will we serve as drinks and food, etcetera, etcetera. The numerous Apollo children were all set on the same task- try to get their father to stop creating haikus and agree to trap little bits of the sun in small, fingertip-sized plastic balls for the campers to have as souvenirs of whatever the date was. The hunters somehow found out that the trees at Camp Half Blood were too high for streamers to be hung by hand. They fixed that by fastening them to silver arrows and shooting them over the branches. Of course, they insisted on all of the streamers being silver, but still. Ares kids promised not to get into any fights and stay out of the way for two weeks preluding the big festival. Aphrodite children, technically against most people's will, focused on making sure everyone would have someone to kiss on the big minute. Hermes kids swiped (without Chiron's, who took it for granted, knowledge,) swiped any food the Athena children dictated from nearby stores. Dionysus kids practiced a play about New Year's in New York to perform as entertainment on the special day.

With all of the hubbub, and excitement around the place, it was fairly simple for Nico to keep out of the way. All he needed was to hide out in his cabin. He had taken a magically filling cup from the dining hall years ago, and bribed Travis and Connor Stoll into buying staples when they snuck out for New Year's food a week or so ago. Nico could have a quiet, peaceful, uneventful New Year.

"Happy New Year's to you, happy New Year's to you, happy Neeeeew Yeeeaaars dear Mr. Nico, happy New Year's to you!" A little Aphrodite girl was at the door, singing in voice that was, surprising, actually really sweet and clear. Huh. She didn't look like a singer. She couldn't have been more than four, maybe five at the most. "Happy New Year's Mr. Nico!" Nico stared down at her, trying to realize how she knew his name, shaking the puzzlement about why she just called him Mr. Nico out of his mind. Then it clicked. She was one of the younger kids who helped him hang hearts during Valentine's day last year.

"Thanks for the song, but I don't _do_ New Year's." He told her, trying to keep the brusque tone he had been sporting lately out of his voice. She didn't seem offended, which Nico appreciated.

"Why not?" She asked lightly, blinking adorable, coffee-brown eyes up at him.

"It's-" Nico shut his mouth. His reasons weren't exactly 4-year-old friendly. "I just don't celebrate it." Wracking his brain to come up with a decent example why, it struck him. He bent down to her level. "You know how people who are Jewish celebrate Hanukkah instead of Christmas? Well, it's like that. I don't celebrate New Year's because I don't believe in it." The girl tilted her head.

"Well, people celebrate Hanukkah around Christmastime. So, what do you celebrate around New Year time?" Nico groaned inwardly. Why couldn't he have just said thank you, made her feel good, and shut the door?

"I don't know. I just don't like New Year's." Her features weren't sad, but a melancholy air hung around her like fog after a rainy day.

"OK." She said quietly. She started to the next cabin over.

"Wait!" Nico blurted out quickly. She stopped. "I'll… I'll come to the celebration if you want me to." She seemed to consider it, but shook her head.

"It's not nice to ask someone to do something if they don't believe in it. Don't worry about it." She seemed a lot happier, even though she told him not to come.

"What's your name?" Nico asked. She was intelligent, and seemed like a kind of angel. With her shoulder length, curling black hair and dark eyes, she looked almost Italian. She could almost be taken for his sister, if not for the fact that she was obviously a daughter of Aphrodite. The… air around her said it all. She was graceful without effort, sophisticated in an innocent way, with perfect posture and delicate features with rosebud lips. If not for the baby fat she would replace with curves someday, and her diminutive stature, she could be taken for a teenager.

"Dia. It's short for Melodia," she spoke with a lilting voice. Gods, even her _voice_ sounded like music.

"You can sing," he said, feeling stupid at stating the obvious.

"My daddy always told me I had the voice of an angel. He gave me this necklace." She fingered a golden music note on a small chain.

"Well, I'm going to tell you a secret," Nico whispered. He had never told anyone before, since he always thought it was a bit odd, but this girl seemed trustworthy. "My last name means angel. diAngelo. It's Italian."

"Really?" Her eyes opened wide. "I need to go check something. I'll see you sometime!" She darted off. She didn't only look, or talk like an Aphrodite. She _ran_ like an Aphrodite- graceful, weaving effortlessly between campers. Odd.

Nico went to the New Year's festival. He couldn't help it. He _had_ to see Dia._ Did I scare her?_ He wondered. _Why did she run off so quickly?_

"Finally decided to shelve pride and come to the celebration?" A voice came from behind him. Nico whirled.

"Yes, I did." He said, trying to sound like he hadn't been startled, even though he'd probably trashed that by spinning around in a panic when he heard Will's voice. Will had sneaked up behind him. _Again._ It seemed that every time he turned around, Will had popped up like some kind of deranged hand puppet.

"Mr. Nico!" Dia ran up beside him. "Hi! You came, and I didn't even ask you to!" Her cheeks were flushed, and she was wearing a velvety green dress.

"Nico," Will looked puzzled. "You have a sister?"

"Um… yes, but this isn't her. This is Dia. She's a… um… well…. friend." Nico flicked his eyes towards Dia to see if she was OK with the title. She seemed cool with it, her smile not wavering in the slightest.

"Mr. Nico! I have a surprise! Right after the ball drops. Watch for me!" Dia scurried off into the crowd.

"You're eighteen, right?" Will whispered to Nico.

"Yeah, I'll be nineteen in June. Why?" Nico tried not to sound confused.

"Pervert." Will winked, sliding off into the crowd, just like Dia. It took Nico a minute.

"Idiot!" He shouted at his back. "She's not… we're not… Oh, Gods." He mumbled. Tempted to slink back to his cabin, Nico focused on hiding near the trees so he could escape if necessary. This was going to be a _long_ night.

"Twenty! Nineteen! Eighteen! Seventeen!"

"You know-" Nico jumped. Damn it! "The Aphrodite kids have been trying to set me up with someone all week.

"Mmm. Is that so?" Nico snapped. Will wasn't perturbed.

"Yes."

"Nine! Eight! Seven!"

"But I told them I had it covered."

"Wha-"

"Two! One! NEW YEAR'S!" yelled the entire camp. Flowers fell, people squealed, hugged, but Nico didn't notice any of it, because he was too busy going completely shocked as he suddenly felt Will's lips on his own. He went limp, brain overload, as Will finally let him go.

"I've wanted to do that for a while, now," He said quietly. None of his usual humor was apparent in his manner.

"OK." Nico let it slip out.

"Then I'm allowed?" Will asked, a touch of laughter in his voice.

"Sure. You're allowed." Nico twined his fingers through Will's.

"Hello." A voice took over the loudspeaker. "Happy New Year's! I have a song… and I always used to sing at any special occasion. Christmas. Valentine's. Even Arbor Day, once!" The voice laughed. Everyone was looking towards the stage, and aas Nico followed their gaze, he saw who he guessed would be up there. Dia. "And, I want to sing it for you." Dia didn't take a deep breath, didn't close her eye, but looked down at the audience. Her crystalline voice floated over the air, the simple tune sweetening her voice a million times more than the bouncing "Happy Birthday/New Year's" song. "What do… the stars do… Up in the sky. Higher than the wind can blow, or the clouds can fly. Each star, in it's own glory. Circles circles circles still!" Nico closed his eyes, and squeezed Will's hand tight.

"This might be a bit hard to explain to your girlfriend," Will nodded at the still-clasped hands.

"Shut up, Solace." Nico said it without venom.

"What if stars flew out of heaven, and if flowers took their place. The sky would still be very fair, a beautiful place." Nico tried not to laugh Katie, a Demeter girl, nodded in approval. "What angels came from heaven, and plucked the stars," Nico tried not to gasp, and looked at Dia, who nodded as faintly as a breath at him.

"Oh," Nico said it so softly, Will didn't even turn his head.

"Thank you," Dia said, her voice quiet. Not because she was scared, it seemed, but because she had finished the part of the song she wanted. "Happy New Year's, again." She walked off the stage, running that graceful run back to Nico.

"Surprise!" She giggled. Nico couldn't help but smile.

"Best surprise _ever_." He told her, not trying to keep the happy tinge out of his voice.

"Wow, Dia," Will looked mock surprised. "You managed to turn him into Mr. New Year's Man. He used to be Scrooge."

"How do you know that?" Nico tried not to laugh as Will started to flush pink. "Looks like someone was spying on me…" Nico whispered teasingly, not wanting Dia to hear.

"Happy New Year, Dia," Will said quickly.

"Yeah," Nico didn't even mind. "Happy New Year."


End file.
